


Labyrinthine

by meremirror



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Blood and Injury, Canon-Typical Violence, Confusion, Friendly Fire, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Status Effects, because confusion is just not a good time, but nothing too graphic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-05
Updated: 2018-03-05
Packaged: 2019-03-27 11:07:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13879575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meremirror/pseuds/meremirror
Summary: A simple fetch quest for Dave becomes much more than the party bargained for when a debilitating status ailment leaves Noctis lost in his own mind. With their stock of curatives running low and surrounded by enemies, there is little his friends can do except watch over him while he navigates his way back to reality.For hurt noct week day 5: status ailment





	Labyrinthine

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time writing for this fandom so I'm super excited to contribute and also kind of nervous. I've noticed there aren't a whole lot of confused!noctis fics that explore what his mind is like when he's confused so I thought that might be fun to try. 
> 
> When I saw the prompts for hurt noct week I thought it would be a good opportunity to actually write the fic instead of just think about it. So here we are.
> 
> Heavily inspired by this [post](http://gigglincactus.tumblr.com/post/168701335029), this [post](http://gigglincactus.tumblr.com/post/168767368234) and this [post](http://niuniente.tumblr.com/post/168725966088/what-a-big-dramatic-baby-i-want-10)

“So it’s gotta be around here then?” Prompto scratched his head, scanning over the bog, cluttered with debris of rotten wood and rock.

“It would appear this is where Dave said the hunter was seen last, and therefore where the dog tag should be found,” Ignis pushed his glasses up his nose and studied the map. The hunter had circled a 500 meter radius with a black marker. “This should be it.”

Noctis groaned. They had spent pretty much the entire day on foot filling hunts for the locals. The sun had been merciless and the humidity had been a slow but relentless killer. It was getting on close to four in the afternoon but his body was already telling him to turn in for the night.

They hadn’t really been planning to stick around the Vesperpool for long. The main objective had been to drive down, find the dungeon, get the ore, get out – preferably in the same day. They had decided to pack light and only brought provisions and curatives to last them a few days. They had been getting ready to leave when Dave approached them with another favour to ask.

Collecting the hunter’s most personal possession to return to the grieving family and friends was a small sacrifice compared to what the hunter had given. Denying their loved ones that one small comfort was something they couldn’t do. The hunter had impeccable timing, as he always seemed to catch them as they were leaving. Nevertheless, his quests added to the stack of sidestops on top of their already packed agenda. It was incredibly frustrating. If they ever found this dog tag Noctis intended to shove it in the hunter’s mouth by way of delivery and tell him where he could shove his next assignment.

“We’d better get looking if we wanna get out of here before dark,” Gladio grumbled, likely sharing Noctis’ sentiment about the extra side stops.

They fanned out in different directions, combing the ground for anything with a reflective surface.

Some time later, the sun began sinking and the shadows grew longer. Noctis found himself squinting. Between all of them there had been a couple false alarms. Two rusted bits and a smashed up timepiece later, Noctis finally saw something glinting in the dying light. It was beside a large rock formation. The prospect of an easy quest and an early night ignited a small burst of energy and he felt something between excitement and his relief. He made to go to reach for the tag, but stopped when he realized there was something moving in the shadows.

He made to go toward the glinting piece but was stopped when brightly coloured tail feathers swept into view. “Guys? We’ve got a bit of a problem here.” Of course it wouldn’t be that easy.

Ignis called a retreat and they worked out a plan to accommodate a fully grown cockatrice plus a basilisk that may have been a mate, that Prompto had spotted off in the distance.

Noctis picked his way through the debris, trying to stay hidden from the cockatrice that was currently on the other side of the large rock formation. If he was careful, he could pick up the tag and they could avoid a fight. He inched closer, and the sound of claws scraping over rocks got louder.

He glanced back over his shoulder to see Ignis watching him carefully. Noctis nodded an affirmative, which the advisor returned. Noctis edged further. He heard the others making noise somewhere to his right, trying to divert the creature’s attention. He crept around the side of the rock and kept his gaze fixed on the prize. A little closer, he thought to himself, just a little bit more. The tag was within reach.

Noctis got down on his knees and was just about to grab it when a brown, scaly claw pierced his vision. The limb was attached to a large body covered in colourful plumage, a long neck ending in a head with beady eyes and an incredibly sharp beak.

The bird didn’t move. It stayed stock-still as it analysed him, waiting for him to make the first move. As Noctis focused he could hear a chorus of chirps coming from behind the bird and if he squinted he could see small yellow bodies hopping around.

Gunshots on his right told Noctis his friends had engaged their target and wouldn’t be able to back him up. If they were fighting the one with the long tail, then the one in front of him must be the mother. He hadn’t considered the possibility of there being others.

Noctis’ mouth went dry. He had been so focused on trying to get in and get out that he had stumbled into a Cockatrice nest.

The bird was standing right on top of the dog tag, likely protecting the shiny treasure. Noctis knew there was no way they were leaving without it, and the bird would not give it up without a fight. Direct confrontation was unavoidable.

Noctis drew a breath and began to formulate a plan in his mind. In doing so he accidentally broke eye contact and lost the staring contest. Big mistake.

As if a switch had been hit, the bird came to life with a hideous screech. It reared back and Noctis’ instinct screamed _guard_ and the Shield of the Just manifested in a burst of crystals.

He crunched himself behind it just in time to brace for a jarring thud. He peeked over to find the bird had retreated a few paces and was winding up for another go. Noctis exchanged the shield for a set of daggers. Before the basilisk could come at him again, he threw one dagger and coated himself in magic and hurled himself after it. He tore through space and reappeared in front his target, using his momentum to drive his second blade into the creature’s breast. The basilisk gave a screech of pain and reeled back. It tried to retreat but Noctis pursued it. It tried to sweep him away with its powerful tail but Noctis dodged out of range.

With both knives he scored deep gashes in the basilisk’s flesh, the small blades able to slide between the layers of the tough, scale-like feathers. He kept at it relentlessly, until he had cornered the beast between a rock and a tree. With the upper hand Noctis became careless. Perhaps it was because he had been fighting robotic soldiers that lacked self-preservation for so long that he forgot a trapped, injured animal became unpredictable and therefore twice as dangerous.

The basilisk flared its wings and Noctis had no time to prepare himself for the attack. A powerful kick knocked him off his feet and he flew back several meters before crashed into a rock formation. His head cracked over the sharp rocks and he saw stars. He gasped, stunned. The basilisk, eager its advantage charged toward him. Noctis forced himself to get up. He meant to throw the dagger past the basilisk so he could warp away from the attack. He aimed too low and the blade struck the creature instead of going under the wing.

Noctis collided with the bird mid air and they both crashed to the ground in a heap. He scrambled away from the thrashing wings and the razor sharp claws. The basilisk got to its feet and snapped its wings out again. Noctis summoned his shield and braced for the impact that never came.  A shower of what felt like hot oil rained over him and he realized his mistake. A memory of Ignis giving them a briefing on the Vesperpool wildlife popped into his head. The mention of Cockatrice, poison and debilitating confusion surfaced.

 _Iggy’s gonna kill me_ was his last coherent thought before a veil descended over his eyes.

 

* * *

  

Ignis was regretting agreeing to taking on Dave’s dog tag retrieval quest. The venture was shaping up to be far more trouble than it was worth – they almost all were. The simple metal piece, however symbolic, cost them several hours minimum and a significant dent in their curatives. He had almost been ready to tell Dave so back at the outpost, but couldn’t bring himself to do it. These small menial quests meant so much to Noctis; the prince had always found joy in helping others, and after the fall of Insomnia he felt he owed it to his people. He would personally assist them in the most mundane and un-princely tasks, even at great inconvenience to himself and the group. The prince’s dedication was something Ignis had to admire.

The complication of facing an entire family of bird-like creatures would undoubtedly set them back by hours. They had lost the light and as well as any hopes of snatching the tag undetected. Suffice to say they would not be retrieving the ore that night.

They were not winning. It didn’t take a strategist to know that. The party of four were vastly outnumbered: one fully grown cockatrice, two basilisks and 5 chickatrice. The debris-littered terrain made it difficult to maintain contact with the target. The cover of rocks and branches became a hindrance with the birds’ tendency to rush their opponents.

The original plan had been for Gladio and Prompto to create a slight distraction to lure the birds away from the nest while Noctis retrieved the dog tag. The ideal version of the plan would have them avoid an altercation altogether. The alternate plan, in the case of Noctis being discovered, would have Noctis making the first move while Gladio and Prompto provided backup. Ignis would launch a surprise attack from behind and drive the bird away from the nest so Noctis could warp in and warp out with the dog tag.

Retreating to again re-strategize might have been an option had Noctis not instigated a fight with the nesting female. Female cockatrices were known to be horrifically persistent when her nest and offspring were in danger.

All around him the chaos of battle swirled. Prompto fired round after round of metallic explosives into the swarm of birds. Noctis had succeeded in fully flushing out the nest. The chickatrice had poured out into the open and scattered. They chirped in a panic running this way and that, attacking anything in their path and then taking off running again. The male cockatrice swept across the field trying to protect his young but seemed unsure which man it should attack first.

This arrangement was not working and Ignis knew it. He could barely get more than one hit on a target before it either disappeared into the chaos of the larger battle or the attack was interrupted by another enemy and he was forced to switch targets. It was horribly inefficient and after roughly twenty minutes of fighting like this yielded no results. He shouted as much to his companions, followed by orders for a new strategy. He got two shouts of confirmation.

The chaos lessened slightly as his new plan took effect. Gladio had successfully engaged the male cockatrice and was now attempting to drive the fight away to give the others some breathing room.

Now that he had fewer targets, Prompto was able to focus his fire to corral the chicks closer to him so they were in blizarra range. Ignis was now free to eliminate the last basilisk.

Ignis narrowly dodged being run over by said basilisk who had been summoned by the cries of her mates in distress. He called fire to his blades and sliced the creature before she could regain her balance. The smell of burnt feathers and cooked flesh reached his nose. A detached part of him began to run through their inventory of spices for a suitable match. He clamped down on the thought, battle had to take priority over his hobbies. He filed the thought away for after the battle. It would be a shame to waste perfectly fresh poultry and he was eager to experiment with the herbs native to the area.

The basilisk found its footing and leaped at him. Ignis braced himself but still had to give some ground to keep from being bowled over. A searing pain ignited on his forearm where a claw had dug a five-inch gash through skin. He clenched his hand. His arm stung horribly but there was no muscle damage.

Once again, the bird’s weight put it at a disadvantage and it struggled to regain equilibrium. Ignis took advantage of the opening and ended its life with a flaming spear through the eye.

The creature screamed in pain before eventually collapsing in the mud, unmoving.  

With his target neutralized, Ignis took a moment to catch his breath. His battle had taken him to the edge of the clearing, far from the other fights. He was safe here for now. He closed the cut on his arm with a potion and bound the small remaining scratch with a bandage. With his wound seen to, Ignis took stock of his companions.

Gladio was locked in combat with the cockatrice. Neither combatant was unscathed. The shield was covered in scratches and mud. He was moving normally so they were probably superficial like Ignis’ own injury. The cockatrice was worse off, bleeding from a gash in its belly that covered its front in a dark stain. Its beautiful green plumage was ruffled and there were places where its feathers had been torn out.

Prompto’s crowd control with the chickatrice seemed to be going well, but the young man’s enthusiasm was drawing him too close to his targets until he was practically standing out in the open. Ignis knew how this was going to end if he didn’t intervene. Prompto had tunnel vision focus and often forgot to maintain the space between him and his opponents. Many potions and close calls later, Prompto was beginning to learn, but there were still times like this when he forgot.

Ignis prepared to shout a warning, but Gladio saved him the trouble. “Get back, Prompto!” he bellowed when he nearly hit Prompto with his greatsword.

“S-sorry!” Prompto sputtered, and dodged back to give Gladio space. He found a vantage point at the top of a sharp cluster of rocks.

With Prompto fighting properly and Gladio uninhibited by concerns of friendly fire gave them the edge they needed to change the tide of battle. A blast of jagged ice from a blizzard spell managed to thin out the numbers.

Confident the situation was well in hand, Ignis turned his attention to his other charge. He had not seen hide or hair of the prince since they had started fighting. Normally the battlefield was alight with crystals shards and cluttered with dazzling afterimages left by warp attacks. The field felt strangely empty without them.

A pained yell from Gladio had Ignis running to provide backup, but he resolved to investigate if the prince didn’t make an appearance soon.

 

* * *

  

The world was a merry-go round. Everything was spinning but not in the same direction. The ground swayed like he was on a ship. Forwards and backwards, side to side, up and down... a jolt and suddenly his shoulder met something cold and hard. A rock? He had been nowhere near a giant rock. It had moved and was jabbing him in the side.

Noctis pushed himself upright only to lurch over the other way. He stumbled sharply to save himself from landing face first in the mud. He half recalled another time where the ground felt like soup, shaking and shifting beneath his feet, only a giant had been involved then. He also remembered a lot of pain. The thought disappeared under the layer of fog.

When he tried to look around everything spun so much it made him feel sick. Any sounds that made it past the fog were painfully loud and distorted. The world had taken on an odd shimmer, and strange lights bloomed in his periphery. It was like he could see everything and nothing all at once. It was terribly confusing. The pulsing throb in his head wasn’t helping.

Noctis clutched his head with his hands, as if it would keep his brains from falling out. Focus, he told himself. There was something he had to do...was supposed to be doing. It was important... but what was it?

A loud screech close by startled Noctis out of his thoughts. A spark of recognition ignited in his mind. Fighting! He was supposed to be fighting. He gave a relieved laugh, which turned into a fit of hysterics that bent him double and wheezing.

Noctis swiped at his face in an uncoordinated effort to clear the tears that clouded his vision. His hand was muddy and he only succeeded in smearing it across his cheek. He blinked in confusion. When had the ground gotten so close? If he really focused, he could feel pressure and wet on his knees. In his fit he had somehow fallen onto his hands and knees. For some reason he found that hilarious and he burst into another fit of laughter. The twinge in his gut that had less to do with his rising nausea and more with the intense feeling of disequilibrium brought him back. Something was wrong but he didn’t know what and that scared him.

Pale yellow caught the beam of his flashlight and the sudden brightness resulted in a stab of pain behind his eyes. Another loud screech and Noctis clapped his hands over his ears. The only way to make it stop was to kill it. He materialized a weapon in his hand.

Fighting with what felt like the worst concussion ever turned out to be easier than he expected. Despite the suffocating fog that filled his mind, his arms remembered what to do. The muscle memory had been drilled into him since he was strong enough to hold a wooden sword. He hacked and slashed at the yellow mass in front him, which turned out to be feathers. He vaguely remembered the large bird he had faced off with before. The round bird moved too quickly for Noctis to comprehend, it seemed to teleport, disappearing from place and reappearing somewhere else. All he could do was lash out with his knives and hope they made contact as he was in no state to pursue his enemy.

This strategy seemed to work. Noctis could feel the jarring impact as his knives sliced deep gashes into the yellow plumage in front of him. That felt right. The bird must have already been weakened because it fell quickly without putting up much of a fight. As it fell one of the claws caught him in the shoulder and Noctis met the ground again. He allowed himself a moment to rest. Lying flat in the mud like this wasn’t so bad. He didn’t have to fight gravity and the world wasn’t so confusing down here. The ground didn’t shift and heave and the spinning wasn’t quite so bad. Perhaps he could just lie here for a moment.

His ears gave an odd pop.

 _You have to get up_! The words chirped in his head. There wasn’t a voice speaking but he could envision the words clear as day.

Something glinted in the corner of his vision. With his vision so skewed it appeared bright as a star. Recognition fluttered and in the haze of his mind “important” flickered to the forefront. With great effort he extricated himself from the corpse of his kill.

The postural change did not go over well. His stomach bottomed out as the ground felt like it had pitched forward suddenly. Noctis doubled over, eyes screwed shut, hands braced on his knees and it was all he could do to not be sick. It took all his strength to stay upright. After a couple moments, the pitching calmed to a gentle rocking. Not great, but manageable. As if on cue, the next objective popped into his mind. It might have been his exhausted mind playing more tricks, his ears popped again, but it was more of a sound than a feeling, and it came with a tinkle of wind chimes. Noctis gave a small chuckle despite his exhaustion. That hadn’t been his text tone in years.

 _Steady now! You’re almost there_ , the not-voice chirped.

Noctis sucked in a deep breath. He could do this. With his eye fixed on it, he stumbled forward. His legs shook, but held him up.

 _Get the dog tag!_ It chimed. Something clicked in his mind. That’s what he was here for.

But it was as if a bubble had been popped. The image of the tag lying by the rock disappeared, and was replaced by a totally unfamiliar scene. Darkness, trees. No rock or metal piece. Noctis blinked, trying to clear his vision and bring back the real scene. The unfamiliar landscape stayed.

Bewildered, Noctis looked around trying to figure out where he was. He spotted a rock beside a glinting piece of metal, but it was far behind him. He had been walking toward it – how could he have passed it?

A pop. _Try again!_

He forced another deep breath, and tried again. Focus, don’t let it out of your sight. He kept his gaze fixed on his destination. Again just like before, after a few moments of walking, the image flickered and faded, replaced again by the vision of trees. The rock was again behind him, further away than last time.

Another sound filtered through the fog. It was different from the last, less shrill and more urgent. Noctis couldn’t tell where it was coming from, but it couldn’t have been far. He heard it again and he cringed; whoever was making the sound must have been in awful pain. Noctis frowned. How did he know it was a cry of pain? It was just sound. Nevertheless the thought distressed him. He wanted to go to them make them stop hurting.

_They are in danger you must go to them! They can help you too._

Noctis pushed his pain and discomfort aside as best he could. He had to help this person, and then they could help him in return. With his new goal in mind, he took off running.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> This was meant to be a oneshot but I had to post it as a WIP to make the deadline. The outline is done and I'm estimating this will end up being around 8k. School is nuts right now but hopefully I can get the rest up some point soon. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading and let me know what you think! :D


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